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Lot Essay
Beyond Tradition: Ink Painting in Singapore
Initially conceived as a means for self-reflection and expression through which the Confucian nobility would refine his ethical personality, the Chinese art of literati painting lay in the expression of brushstrokes as a reflection of inner character and spirituality. In the thirteenth century in China, the literati painting tradition evolved into a major art form after decades of drastic political changes that saw the exile of many elite members of society, who incidentally found solace through artistic refinement in the countryside.
Many of the second generation Singaporean artists were taught by the pioneers of the Nanyang style, which sought to harmonise the painting traditions and ideologies from the East and West. With time, the local art scene began to slip into separate groups, each exploring different mediums and concepts. Some would choose to develop their practice in the Chinese ink tradition, rooted in the literati history, but maintaining their unique qualities in their techniques and style by refusing to be limited by the structures and rules of the bygone eras.
Chua Ek Kay's Chrysanthemum Tea and Teapot (Lot 443) and Untitled (Lot 444) are some of the artist's earlier work. Painting in the expressive xieyi style, the artist sweeps ink and colour across the paper, favouring emotive expression over verisimilitude. The painting of the pomegranate plant or the chrysanthemum tea pot only occupies a fraction of the space on the page, leaving areas of negative space to maintain balance in the compositions. Lotus Pond – The Summer Happenings (Lot 441) is in the artist's signature style, developed at the peak of his artistic practice. Painted in 2004, Lotus Pond displays the development of the artist's preferred xieyi techniques in a more abstract manner, freeing the artist from the constraints of representation. Short, truncated stroked of ink make sharp marks on the paper, suggesting the forms of the dancing lotus flowers over the rippling surface of a pond. The abruptness of each stroke, beginning with a thick black point and stretching into thin hairs of lines, appears like the visual manifestation of a staccato chorus, an unregulated rhythm to the scene.
The works of both Wong Keen and Zhuang Shengtao are founded on their artistic fundamentals in the literati tradition. Despite being one of the few Singaporean artists to journey West-ward for an education in art, Wong Keen pictorial engagements with Western Colour theory does not hinder his links to the ink traditions, but strengthens the visual language of his works. Untitled (Lot 446) exemplifies Wong Keen's experimental spirit, the forms bursting forth in a riot of colours within the lines of black that try to contain it. Likewise, Zhuang's adherence to the Chinese literati value remains striking in his ink expression even as he increasingly focuses on rhythmic, abstracted forms of monochromatic colour elements in Blue (Lot 445).
Tending towards realism in their ink practice, Lim Tze Peng and Lee Hock Moh found their means of expression in images of reality. Lim painted scenes of Singapore, as in Singapore River (Lot 436) recording the changing urban environment with ink and colour, rendering the vignettes expressively to capture the bustling energy of the Singapore river. By no means less expressive that his contemporaries who favoured abstract representation in their works, Lee on the other hand championed the fine gongbi style of painting, employed in Untitled (Floral Garden) (Lot 442), delicately tracing every branch and thorn, every petal and feather.
No technique singularly dominated the ink painting scene amongst the second-generation Singaporean artists, who opted instead for a wide ranging investigation of this traditional practice, each distinguishing their practice from the other despite their shared roots.
Initially conceived as a means for self-reflection and expression through which the Confucian nobility would refine his ethical personality, the Chinese art of literati painting lay in the expression of brushstrokes as a reflection of inner character and spirituality. In the thirteenth century in China, the literati painting tradition evolved into a major art form after decades of drastic political changes that saw the exile of many elite members of society, who incidentally found solace through artistic refinement in the countryside.
Many of the second generation Singaporean artists were taught by the pioneers of the Nanyang style, which sought to harmonise the painting traditions and ideologies from the East and West. With time, the local art scene began to slip into separate groups, each exploring different mediums and concepts. Some would choose to develop their practice in the Chinese ink tradition, rooted in the literati history, but maintaining their unique qualities in their techniques and style by refusing to be limited by the structures and rules of the bygone eras.
Chua Ek Kay's Chrysanthemum Tea and Teapot (Lot 443) and Untitled (Lot 444) are some of the artist's earlier work. Painting in the expressive xieyi style, the artist sweeps ink and colour across the paper, favouring emotive expression over verisimilitude. The painting of the pomegranate plant or the chrysanthemum tea pot only occupies a fraction of the space on the page, leaving areas of negative space to maintain balance in the compositions. Lotus Pond – The Summer Happenings (Lot 441) is in the artist's signature style, developed at the peak of his artistic practice. Painted in 2004, Lotus Pond displays the development of the artist's preferred xieyi techniques in a more abstract manner, freeing the artist from the constraints of representation. Short, truncated stroked of ink make sharp marks on the paper, suggesting the forms of the dancing lotus flowers over the rippling surface of a pond. The abruptness of each stroke, beginning with a thick black point and stretching into thin hairs of lines, appears like the visual manifestation of a staccato chorus, an unregulated rhythm to the scene.
The works of both Wong Keen and Zhuang Shengtao are founded on their artistic fundamentals in the literati tradition. Despite being one of the few Singaporean artists to journey West-ward for an education in art, Wong Keen pictorial engagements with Western Colour theory does not hinder his links to the ink traditions, but strengthens the visual language of his works. Untitled (Lot 446) exemplifies Wong Keen's experimental spirit, the forms bursting forth in a riot of colours within the lines of black that try to contain it. Likewise, Zhuang's adherence to the Chinese literati value remains striking in his ink expression even as he increasingly focuses on rhythmic, abstracted forms of monochromatic colour elements in Blue (Lot 445).
Tending towards realism in their ink practice, Lim Tze Peng and Lee Hock Moh found their means of expression in images of reality. Lim painted scenes of Singapore, as in Singapore River (Lot 436) recording the changing urban environment with ink and colour, rendering the vignettes expressively to capture the bustling energy of the Singapore river. By no means less expressive that his contemporaries who favoured abstract representation in their works, Lee on the other hand championed the fine gongbi style of painting, employed in Untitled (Floral Garden) (Lot 442), delicately tracing every branch and thorn, every petal and feather.
No technique singularly dominated the ink painting scene amongst the second-generation Singaporean artists, who opted instead for a wide ranging investigation of this traditional practice, each distinguishing their practice from the other despite their shared roots.